From Japanese Patent No. 3325706 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, p. 3) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-2000-293730 (FIGS. 3 and 4, pp. 2-5) it is known to provide an arrangement in which a reverse rotation roller is disposed, so that a circumferential face of a lower end is separated from a flat belt by a distance which is larger than the thickness of a single coin. In this conventional apparatus, when the flat belt advances in a coin input direction, the lower circumferential face of the reverse rotation roller advances in the direction opposite to the coin input direction. Therefore, coins that are conveyed in a stack on the flat belt are prevented from advancing by the reverse rotation roller and are dragged down on the flat belt.
When coins clog between the flat belt and the reverse rotation roller, the clogging of coins is eliminated by advancing the flat belt in the direction opposite to the coin input direction, and rotating the reverse rotation roller in the same direction or stopping the reverse rotation roller. Further, a partition wall is disposed above the reverse rotation roller at generally right angles, so that the coin that is drawn up while leaning against the reverse rotation roller and about to hop over the same is returned onto the flat belt by the partition wall. As such, the coin leaning against the reverse rotation roller moves synchronously with rotation of the reverse rotation roller by the frictional force with respect to the reverse rotation roller and tends to hop over the reverse rotation roller. The coin brought up by the reverse rotation roller will drop on the flat belt because the advance of the coin is prevented by the partition wall.
It is desirable for a coin processing apparatus to be as small as possible since such a coin processing apparatus is usually placed in the vicinity of, for example, a point of sale (POS) register in supermarkets, gas stations and the like. In the conventional apparatus, however, the partition wall should be arranged generally at right angles above the reverse rotation roller, at a predetermined height, concretely at a height which is equal to or larger than at least the diameter of the largest coin, so that possibilities as to a reduction in height are limited. As a measure for solving this problem, arranging a hopping-over preventing plate extending substantially horizontally right above the reverse rotation roller in a stationary state is expected. In this case, the flat belt and the hopping-over preventing plate should be separated by a distance which is larger or equal to the diameter of a coin having the largest diameter. This also limits reduction of height. This is because when a coin having the largest diameter is sandwiched between the flat belt and the hopping-over preventing plate while it is standing, the hopping-over preventing plate may be pushed up by the coin to be damaged, and the coin may not be smoothly returned onto the flat belt.